


Snow Day

by ChestnutBrumby



Series: Sweet Dreams - Scarlet Vision ficlets [20]
Category: Captain America (Movies), MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clint does have a weakness, Do You Want to Build a Snowman?, F/M, Humor, Other, Romance, Snow Day, Sorry for that last one, Wanda being creepy, snowfight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-07 22:06:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7731532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChestnutBrumby/pseuds/ChestnutBrumby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snow at the compound and just about everything you'd expect from there on out...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Snow Day: Part I

"Wanda?" The voice came, softly, from beside her bed.  
  
She opened her eyes groggily and groaned. " _Vis. Knocking_."  
  
"Oh, my sincere apologies." Vision retreated back through the closed door he'd just phased in through. Wanda buried her head back under the covers, but the rap of his knuckles against the door prevented her from going back to sleep.  
  
She'd be mad at him if he wasn't so damn innocent. "Come in." She mumbled, without lowering the blanket. She felt him settle on the edge of her bed.  
  
"Vision, it is-" Wanda pulled the covers down enough to see the bedside table. "Not even six in the morning. We stayed up until 1 AM watching movies, and it's _freezing_. I'm not moving from this bed even if a supervillian is melting the compound. Get Sam and Rhodey to deal with it, they're dying for some action."  
  
"I assure you, there is no current threat. Besides, Colonel Rhodes is currently visiting Mr. Stark in Malibu."  
  
"You're waking me up at five-thirty A.M. on Saturday morning and the world's not even ending?! WHY?"     
     
"It's a surprise." He was smiling, she could hear it in his voice. He wasn't typically secretive - he was terrible at keeping anything to himself, everybody told him so - and curiosity was starting to get the better of Wanda.  
  
"Do I have to leave my bed to encounter this surprise?" She grumbled.  
  
"Not necessarily, but I dare say it would be more comfortable for you if you got up. I'll make you some coffee and meet you in the kitchen. Dress warmly." He advised, and she heard his footsteps retreating down the hall.  
  
She staggered into the muted light of the kitchen ten minutes later, accepting a cup of coffee Vision handed her, still only half awake. She preferred tea the rest of the day, and only drank coffee when she had to rise early or alternately stay up late, usually on a mission.  
  
" _Thank you._ You didn't put the grounds down the disposal did you? Stark found some the other day and went ballistic." Wanda muttered, cupping the mug in both hands. The guilty way Vision's gaze slid away from hers made her crack a smile. "Nevermind, tell me about this big surprise of yours."  
  
Gently, Vision took her elbow and guided her over to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Immediately, all traces of residual sleep vanished. "Vis! It's _snowing_!" She dropped her mug, which Vision caught deftly. Wanda didn't notice, and instead pressed both palms and her nose against the window, feeling the cold from the other side.    
  
"Have you been out there yet?" Wanda wiggled with excitement to see the expanse of yard between the facility and the edge of the forest pristine white.  
  
"No, I thought we might experience it together." She turned to look at him, features as composed as they usually were, but picked up on an errant thread of shyness and eagerness mingled together from his mind. "Of course, you haven't seen snow before, have you?"  
  
"That is correct." His gaze stayed on her, steady. She smiled at him and held out a hand. "Let us go, then."  
  
Wanda had always loved the snow. There hadn't been much time for playing in recent years, but as children she and Pietro had run amok making snowmen and having snowball fights.  
  
Pietro. Her smile slipped as they stepped outside. Pietro would have loved this - a taste of Sokovia, here in New York. He would have run outside in just his boxers, shouting about what wimps Americans were and how they knew nothing of true cold.  
  
"Wanda?" She wiped at her tears and rejoined the present at the sound of Vision's voice. He always knew. He didn't ever pressure her, letting her talk about her twin if she needed it, letting her stay silent if she needed that instead. His fingers squeezed hers. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the snow, pledging to enjoy herself in Pietro's memory.  
  
She was distracted once Vision stepped out beside her, since he lifted his foot and pressed down several times as if he didn't trust his weight to the freshly fallen powder. "You _can_ fly, you know." She pointed out with amusement, and he shot a sideways look at her tinged with sheepishness.  
  
"Would you show me some traditional activities undertaken in the snow, Wanda?"  
  
"Sure. Let's start with a snow angel." Without further ado she flopped on her back in he fresh snow. Vision's bewildered look was so precious she instantly cracked up.  
  
"Ohmigod, your expression." She snorted, shooting a low-energy bolt at him to collapse his knees. "Get down here. See, you put your arms out like this, and kick your legs - aii, not so much, you're going to bury me!- then you get up." She held out a hand. "And you have a snow angel."  
  
Vision gazed at the two imprints, his a great deal taller than Wanda's dainty one. "Oh, I do see the passing resemblance to a two dimensional variant of the common image referred to as an angel." He admitted, tilting his head as if he were studying a rare painting.  
  
Wanda decided a snowman might be more appropriate for Vision.  
  
Which it was, since he was a pro at snow density and measurements and between his superior strength and her powers binding giant snowballs of far greater proportions were usual, they swiftly constructed a twenty-five-foot high snowman.  
  
Alighting back to the ground after setting the snowman's face up (having used a curved branch Vision had found in the forest for a smiling mouth, which had made their creation look too ridiculously happy so Wanda had added vampire teeth, then used a pattern of stones for the eyes - she'd drawn one open and the other closed) they stepped back and surveyed their handiwork. Vision turned to look at Wanda at the same moment her head swung towards him, and she flashed him a pleased grin. Despite the air temperature, he felt warmth sneak through his entire body.    
  
"Should we head inside? Some of the others have awakened and will soon be seeking breakfast." Vision felt slightly strange, although he had no idea why.  
  
Wanda beamed at their snowman one last time, then erupted into giggles, drawing a bemused look from Vision. "What is amusing?"  
  
"I'm just picturing Sam or Clint's face when they pass by those windows-" Wanda explained, and pointed at the wide bay windows that made up the wall of the kitchen and living area the Avengers shared. "- with a bowl of cereal, and they see a giant winking vampire snowman staring back at them."  
  
Vision felt his awkwardness melt as he added his laugh to hers, though he found Wanda funnier than the situation she described.  
  
"We'll drag them all out after breakfast for a snowball fight." Wanda decided, then seeing Vision's blank look, explained. "What you do is take a handful off snow, roll it into a ball, and then throw it."  
  
"At somebody else? Why?"  
  
"I'll show you later. Come on."  
  
Vision slid into the end bar stool he favoured when he joined the other Avengers at mealtimes. Though he didn't eat Wanda had explained to him early on that informal meals were often viewed as a social point of relaxation and camaraderie, and Vision had since made it a point to sit unobtrusively to the side while the others ate. Sam had even, with limited success, been teaching him to cook.  
  
They were greeted by Steve, Natasha slumped over the kitchen island (barring catastrophic events, she never properly woke up until the second cup of coffee) a yawning Clint, and Sam dishing out pancakes. Wanda gladly accepted a plate, digging in heartily, though Vision noticed she kept a close eye on the others. A small, wicked smile kept twitching the sides of her lips.  
  
Sam was the first victim. He was an active man, and often wandered about as he ate standing up. He'd just loaded up a plate with pancakes, wrinkling his nose at Steve who always smothered his in maple syrup, when he ventured within eyeline of the windows.     
  
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Sam jumped so badly his plate startled out of his grip, sending pancakes flying. There was a sigh of 'language' from Steve's position. Clint bent over to pick up a few of the pancake pieces which he put on his own plate. "Five second rule." He commented, wandering over to Sam's side. "Now what are you being such a -SWEET GOD IN HEAVEN WHAT-?" Clint leaped backwards, both his food and his plate going airbourne as well. He hurtled over the kitchen island in one jump, which he sheltered behind.  
  
Between the element of surprise being lost and Wanda's triumphant peals of laughter, both Steve and a slightly more awake Nat managed not to loose any breakfast as they went to study the giant snowman, standing at eye level with the second story. Vision looked on with amusement that was probably obvious only to Wanda.  
  
"Well." Steve looked like he was trying hard not to laugh "You don't see that every day."     
  
"Please, just tell me it doesn't walk or talk." Begged Sam from where he'd joined Clint behind the island.  
  
Natasha salvaged his cracked plate where he'd hurled it and picked up a pancake that hadn't actually touched the floor personally, taking a bite out of it. "I'd tell you what a moron you are, but the truth is stranger villains have happened to us." She commented, reaching for the maple syrup bottle.     
   
"Wanda, I assume from your hysterics you're responsible for that nightmare fuel? How'd you even build that thing?" Clint commented, showing exactly half his brow and part of one eye over the edge of the counter, eyeing the snowman as if he actually expected Sam's concerns about it walking and talking to come to pass.  
  
"Well, Vision helped." Wanda said modestly, then turned to the window, a thoughtful scarlet strand twining around her fingers. "I wonder if I could make it wal-"  
  
"NO!" Bellowed Sam and Clint in unison from behind the kitchen counter, causing Nat to choke on her pancake and Steve to bend almost double in an effort to hide his laughter. They all missed Vision's grin, the only one present who knew Wanda had been deliberately teasing.  
  
Wanda wiggled her fingers mischievously. "All right, I promise not to Olaf the snowman if you all accept my snowball fight challenge."  
  
"As long as it's on the other side of the compound to that thing." Came Sam's muffled voice from behind the kitchen island.  
  
"Was that a Frozen reference?" Nat questioned, taking the last pancake.  
  
"We watched it with Cooper, Lila and Nathaniel the other day." Vision volunteered, collecting the dishes and loading the dishwasher. Sam looked wounded. "Without me?!"  
  
Ten minutes later the Avengers found themselves out in the snow. Now the snowman was safely out of sight, Sam was all activity, bouncing eagerly on the balls of his feet. "So, how we doing this? Teamup or free-for-all?" He asked, and in reply Wanda nailed him with a snowball that exploded right in his face.  
  
"What?" She asked innocent at his look of outrage. "I was demonstrating the art of snowballs to Vision."  
  
"Oooooh, this means war, Red. Cap, you're on my side, right?"  
  
"Always, Sam." Steve looked like he was trying really hard not to laugh at his friend's snow-splattered face, but his reply was sincere.    
  
"Vision and I want Clint." Wanda announced smugly, tucking her arm through his. "And before you say no Clint, remember your snowman friend." She wiggled her fingers sweetly at him.  
  
Nat rolled her eyes. "Last for me then, it's like gym class all over again."  
  
Sam slung an arm over her shoulder. "C'mon, no teenage boy would have ever picked you last in gym." He laughed. Natasha grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder in response.  
  
Wanda took the opportunity to hurl a snowball at Natasha, which missed the back of her head and only glanced her arm, getting the spy's attention. Very slowly, she swung around to face Wanda, eyes narrowing. She squealed and dodged behind Vision. "Help!"  
  
Natasha scooped up two handfuls of snow and shaped them into balls in seconds. "Sam, get up! Steve, cover fire from the left!" She barked. Steve lifted an eyebrow. "Oho, you're in charge of our team now, picked-last?"  
  
Natasha threw her first snowball at Wanda and Vision and her second at Steve. "Get many snowfalls in Brooklyn there, Mr. New York Minute?"  
  
"Some." Spluttered Steve, wiping snow from his face. He lent a hand to help Sam up - despite the fact his friend was cracking up over Natasha's friendly fire- but Clint had put their minute of distraction to good use.  
  
"Surrender!" He bellowed from the tree branch he'd perched in, and began to rapid-fire snowballs down like missiles. Wanda and Vision staked themselves out at the base of his tree, creating a snowball chain where Vision quickly scooped up snow and patted it into shape and Wanda levitated them up for Clint to grab.     
  
"Ahhh!" Sam dropped straight back to the ground, shielding his face, clearly the most sensible reaction to finding oneself under snowball-fire from Clint Barton. "That escalated quickly!"    
  
Natasha slyly put Steve between Clint and herself, using his study frame for cover as they tried to edge towards a line of hedges. She winced as Clint's snowballs hit with unfailing accuracy, mostly against the top of her head as he lobbed them over her Steve armor. "You couldn't have gotten the professional archer on our side, Steve?" She yelled, wondering exactly how Clint still managed to land snowballs on her head with Steve in the way.       
  
"I got them." Wanda concentrated and raised a wall of snow right in front of them, grinning at their faces. "Keep it up guys, we're winning!" She raised two more walls, hemming Steve and Nat in, while Vision alternated between passing Clint up fresh ammunition and throwing snowballs himself. His were just as accurate as Clint's were, and both Steve and Nat soon began to vanish under a covering of snow.  
  
"Sam! A little help here!" Bellowed Steve, wishing he had his shield handy. Through the snow, he thought he heard a faint snort. "You think I can move?" Grumbled Sam, from where Wanda had levitated half a snowbank on top him. "Would you two surrender already and come dig me out?"  
  
Wanda grinned widely. "Too late." With a swift motion she brought her hands together and the walls of snow she'd built around Steve and Nat collapsed on top of them.  
  
The sudden silence was broken when Clint started to laugh. "You sure you needed me on your team?" He snickered, and dropped from his tree. Wanda flung one arm around his shoulders and the other around Vision, tugging their heads down to her level for a victory hug. "We toasted them!" She cheered, eyes bright, completely missing Vision's startled but not unhappy sideways look at her at her spontaneous victory gesture.  
  
After they'd freed their teammates and everyone trooped inside for hot chocolate, Steve broke the tired silence as they sat gathered around the kitchen island. "Rematch tomorrow?" He asked with a too-innocent smile that made Wanda certain he had a plan.  
  
Clint lazily tossed a mini marshmallow in the air and caught it in his mouth. "What makes you think you can pose a threat to Team Champion?"  
  
"'Given Wanda's blatant cheating via use of powers-"  
  
" _Hey_!"  
  
"-Round two will be no holds barred. Suits, powers, the works." Steve broke into a wide, satisfied grin. Clint dropped the bag of marshmallows with a muffled curse. Vision's gaze slid subtly to Wanda, taking his cues from her.    
  
Wanda waved her hand, picking up the marshmallows off the floor, then sending then with a neat flick of her wrist straight into Steve's half-full mug. "Bring it, Cap."  
  
 


	2. Snow Day: Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snowball fight at the Avengers Facility: no holds barred, all powers allowed.

Wanda felt like laughing. Facing her was a quartet of adversaries - Steve, Sam, Natasha and Rhodes - and all four of them looked grim enough an observer would be forgiven for thinking they were about to tackle an apocalyptic villain.  
  
She stepped lightly through the snow, confident with Vision on her right and Clint on her left. Vision's cape rippled in the light breeze, which sent little whirls of snowflakes dancing around them. Clint was wearing his 'retirement duds' so he claimed - his tough leather suit, though he was minus his bow and arrows.  
  
A short distance across the field, Steve was speaking to his team in a voice too low for Wanda to hear. He was in full Captain America spangles, complete with shield. Sam had his wings, Rhodes was in full suit, silver and intimidating - did he _really_ need the shoulder canon? - and Natasha looked cooler than their snowy surrounds with the electric blue lines on her suit glowing faintly, red hair standing out.  
  
"I still think four against three isn't _fair_." Clint complained, his fingers twitching idly. Wanda knew he missed his bow, even though he hardly needed it for the current mission.  
  
"I still think Wanda or Vision could win single-handed pitted against all the rest of us, so stop whining." Natasha retorted.  
  
"No stealing Clint." Wanda preempted the spy, then lifted a teasing eyebrow. "You girls ready?"  
  
"Oho, that's how it is. Let's not get nasty." Sam protested.  
  
"Shall we settle it with snow instead?" Wanda wasted no time in levitating a handful and propelling it inside a red glow at Sam, the missile exploding on his shoulder. "Oh, bring it, Magic Dance!" He extended his wings - Wanda could never see him take off without feeling a flash of admiration. Steve launched his shield at Vision, but instead of turning intangible and letting it sail through him, Vision simply increased his density just enough that the vibranium disc clanged into his midsection and tumbled to the ground. He proceeded to pick it up. "My thanks, Captain Rogers." He called politely, then went airborne himself, taking the shield.  
  
Clint shot off on a tangent, kicking up snow as he ran. Natasha raced to intercept him, snowballs at the ready, and the pair let out whooping war-cries as they clashed.  
  
From the corner of her eye Wanda spotted Rhodes speeding towards her. Throwing her hand up, geysers of snow shot into the air, proving cover as she changed position, though she knew from training Rhodes had heat detection and infrared sensors that could pinpoint her even though she'd compromised his visual advantage. "Vis!" She shouted for help automatically when Rhodes appeared out of a flurry, headed for her at an impressive speed.  
  
**CLANG**.  
  
Rhodes fell out of the air, landing in a snowdrift, muffled curses escaping. It seemed Vision was just as proficient as throwing Steve's shield as he was snowballs and Mjolnir. Rhodes flipped his visor up, blinking, stunned. "What just happened?"  
  
Wanda grinned up at Vision, extending a hand to levitate Steve's shield which he was making an all-out run for across the snow. She returned it to Vision's hands just before Steve reacted it, laughing at his expression. "Thanks Vis!" She called, smiling sweetly at Steve for good measure.  
  
"You are going to regret that." Steve put on a scowl and stamped his feet in mock menace. Wanda wiggled her fingers in readiness. "Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?" She teased.  
  
She was taken aback when Steve smiled at her. "Nothing. I'm going to let him do it." He nodded over her shoulder. Wanda didn't even have time to turn her head - Sam swept her up, locking his arms around her and pinning her arms, immediately taking off. "Let's fly!"  
  
"I _like_ flying!" Wanda pointed out, trying to wiggle out of Sam's grip. He was a heck of a lot stronger than he looked, and her decidedly small frame as at a disadvantage with her hands pinned.    
  
"Good." Sam gritted out between his teeth, struggling a little bit with his uncooperative armful. He dipped to one side when Clint, somewhere below, nailed him in the face with a large snowball. "Barton, I seem to recall you're meant to be retired!" He yelled, and Wanda sized his moment of distraction to gain just enough leverage to move her left hand.  
  
Sam never saw the bolt coming. He saw red - literally - and plunged downward, loosing his hold on Wanda, who caught herself in midair, laughing as Sam tumbled down. She concentrated and caught him just before he faceplanted into the snow, giving him just enough time to sigh in relief before she dropped him face first (he landed harmlessly in the thick snow).  
  
Still grinning, she gained a touch of altitude to see what the others were up to. Clint and Natasha were knee-deep in snow, neither giving ground as they hurtled freezing ammo at one another. Steve was trying to avoid Vision, who swooped low looking for him, and that only left Rhodes, who was just going airborne again. Wanda shaped a snowball the size of a beach ball using her powers, then as Rhodes began to fly she chased him with it, greatly amused when he noticed and began hurtling abuse at the innocent snowball.  
  
Below them, Steve changed tactics and launched himself at Vision in an impressive jump. Vision promptly phased so Steve passed through him, but he'd thought of that. Just before he stared on his downward arc he snagged a hand in the strap of his shield, his weight ripping it from Vision's hand.  
  
Wanda let her snowball drop so it landed on Steve just a moment after he touched back on the ground, then she alighted beside him and snatched the shield. "My turn!" She announced brightly, then retreated to a safe distance and held the shield up. "Oh, there is something to be said for this." She admired, angling herself behind it. "How do I look?"  
  
"Fetching." Laughed Steve. "Can I have it back?" In reply, Wanda hit him with a snowball. From behind. He spluttered and shook his head, freeing snow from his helmet. "I'll take that as a no?"  
  
Vision landed on Steve's opposite side and in a moment's silent agreed communication, both he and Wanda peppered Steve with snow. Laughing good-naturally, he tried to fight his way free of a rising wave of snow, though he tended to find as soon as he freed a foot or hand he found himself buried again. "A little help!" He hollered.  
  
Rhodes swept down and went for the shield, which had apparently become something of a prized possession. Wanda alternated between snowballs and hex bolts to occupy the armored soldier, forced to run for cover as she did so. The group scattered, spreading out over a vast area including the gardens, two sides of the compound and an area of the forest.  
  
Wanda had taken cover at ground level from Rhodes and managed to give the solider the slip. Keeping her feet on the ground, she cautiously slid through the fruit trees, bare and barren of branch now it was winter. When they'd first arrived, they had borne some of the nicest apples she'd ever eaten.     
  
She was taken completely by surprise when somebody tackled her at the knees and she fell softly into the snow. For a moment she wondered who could have shielded themselves so well they were able to sneak up on her, until she rolled over and found herself looking into a pair of blue eyes alive with mischievous light.  
  
"Vision!" She exclaimed, but was unable to resist grinning in response to the satisfied expression tugging at his lips. "Miss Maximoff." he greeted with overt politeness considering he was still looming over her, trapping her in the snow. She had to laugh, managing to bring an elbow up to dig into his side. "Get off me, you big idiot." She told him with no small measure of affection. "We're on the same side!"  
  
"Of course. I merely wanted to see if I was able to apply the correct measure of stealth needed to engage you in a surprise attack." He explained as he let her up, but the amused undertone to his features remained. The moment she was on her feet she dived at him in retaliation.    
  
His short chuckle huffed a jet of mist into the cold air - he read the intention in her mind and solidified his mass as she hurtled herself at him, so that he didn't so much as wobble. "An excellent retaliatory attempt." He grinned down at her, then swept his foot around in an arc, hooking her legs out from under her and catapulting her on her back in the snow for the second time in as many minutes, hands gentle but firm around her wrists so she couldn't hex him. "Not quite enough in this instance, I fear."         
  
She had some inkling of being the only one who saw this side of Vision - the playful tilt to his head, the softness in his eyes, but then Wanda realized just how securely she was pinned under him, the length of his body aligned over hers, and suddenly nothing was funny anymore. Though she'd been lightly exerted playing in the snow before, her heart rate picked up to some uncountably fast pace, so that each beat blurred into the next.  
  
She could tell he was picking up the emotions rushing around inside her mind, as his playfulness morphed into an expression much harder to read. Certainly confusion, a small amount of curiosity, awkwardness, concern, and something that ran deeper and more urgently behind the surface emotions. He seemed at a total loss with what to do with the feelings he'd seen in her mind, and Wanda struggled to get a hold of herself.  
  
Vision was too new, too innocent, too pure to be tainted by her mind. The thought caused her to slam mental barriers in place and Vision flinched as if he felt it physically. As if she'd slapped him, his blue eyes grew fractionally wider and he rose to his feet, somehow as graceful and poised as ever despite the fact he was covered in snow.  
  
"Are you-  Wanda... I apologize." He managed, going to hold a hand out to help her up then retracting it hastily before he'd finished the motion, as if worried about offending her. Wanda knelt and stood herself, shaking her head. "Vis..."  
  
She had no idea what she was going to say to him and Sam's sudden appearance winging overhead caused the pair to jerk apart as if guilty, although there had already been a good three feet of space between them.  
  
"Hey, you two!" Hollered Sam, rather obliviously. "We cornered Clint and took him down! You want to come unbury him, or should we keep him as a trophy?"  
  
"We're coming." Confirmed Vision, and Sam swooped low over their heads to show them the way. He darted a final, uncertain glance at Wanda before turning and following their teammate.  
  
Although he battle continued until it got too dark to properly see any everybody complained Sam and Rhodes had unfair advantage with the night-vision built into their goggles and suit, there was eventually a tie declared. After their scuffle in the snow Wanda found it difficult to focus on working with Vision, even though they co-operated to rescue Clint from their opponents, their easy camaraderie from earlier in the day slipped away from them.      
  
While Nat and the boys resumed collapsing on the couch as per the previous day's ritual, Wanda begged off and slipped up to her room. Chilled even though her layers, Wanda stripped off her clothes and set the temperature of her shower to something verging on 'surface temperature of the sun' and enjoyed the luxury of the hot water until she felt drowsy and drained.  
  
When she dressed and returned to her room, she was almost surprised to find it empty. Part of her had thought (hoped?) that she'd find Vision standing awkwardly in her room, hands clasped behind his back, stammering out an apology.  
  
But then, he didn't have anything to apologize for. _She'd_ been the one who'd let things get carried away, let her imagination run away with her. A sudden rush of anger at herself and embarrassment flooded Wanda, and her fists glowed ruby as she clenched them.  
  
God, she missed Pietro. What she wouldn't give to have her twin fling his arm around her shoulders, crack stupid jokes until she caved and told him what was wrong. Then she felt worse for wanting her brother just dump her problems on him, when he'd never get the chance to embarrass himself in front of the opposite sex ever again.        
  
Lonely and upset, she curled under her covers. She never tucked her sheets or blankets in under the mattress, leaving them loose so she could wrap herself into them like a shield against the world.  
  
They didn't stop nightmares, though. When she awoke in pitch darkness, tears tracing down her face, gentle fingertips wiped them away and soothed over the top of her head, curving over the shape of her scalp. He didn't say anything to her, and when Wanda opened her eyes to dim dawn light and found her room empty, she somehow wasn't surprised.  
  
She still knew he had come when she'd needed him, just like he always did.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's recently come to my attention some of you guys have been plugging me on tumblr (which I am on, yes, but am only 12% capable of understanding/using it successfully, so I typically just use it to stalk the Scarlet Vision tag...) so I just wanted to say, you guys are brilliant pieces of awesome, and if I were making myself an Avengers team you'd all be on it, and thank you very much <3


	3. Snow Day: Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High in the African mountains...

Snowflakes spiraled in flurries, lightly touching down on Wanda's upturned cheeks. There was nothing she loved more than the first snowfall. The crunch of a footstep behind her alerted her to somebody's approach and she felt the edge of his thoughts and turned with a ready smile. "Hey Vis."  
  
"Hello Wanda." He peered curiously at her, forgetting to blink, something that still happened occasionally. "Are you certain you should be out in this weather? The current temperature is dropping by a rate of almost .3 of a degree every hour."  
  
She'd gotten used to his precise form of concern and waved a hand, wiggling her fingers to keep the circulation going. "I'm fine, Vis, I love the snow and the cold. I'll come in soon, okay?"  
  
He gazed at her for a moment, nodded once, but lingered at her side. She could sense the concern in his mind, flaring so brightly she unintentionally caught a few of his accompanying thoughts. He was worrying over if he should offer to go inside and get her a winter jacket and a set of gloves, if she would consider his concern an interference, but Wanda was touched. Taking pity on him, she stepped closer and tucked her hand into the crock of his arm.  
  
"I'll come inside with you now if you're going." She offered, and he immediately brightened. She laughed as they started walking and gave him a quick sideways hug. "You worry far too much, you know."  
  
"Yes, I've been told." He replied agreeably, and with a careful motion he drew his arm up and moved his cape around her shoulders, shielding her from the wind and the snow.     
  
Wanda paused under the enclosed courtyard that led into the living area, stripping off her now snowy jumper before they went inside. "You'll be cold." Protested Vision softly, who had simply dematerialized and let the snow fall to the ground at his feet. Wanda smiled at him reassuringly. "Sam and Clint built a fire inside earlier, I won't need it."  
  
He continued to stare at her with such intensity, even for him, that her skin prickled with nerves. "Vis, are you all right?"  
  
"There is snow in your hair." He said it as a mere murmur, and as if transfixed he extended a hand to her and began to brush the snowflakes away. Warmth bloomed at the back of her neck and rushed down her spine to each extremity, partly because she enjoyed the sensation of the gentle way Vision ran his fingers over her scalp and partly because she could sense the devotion in his actions.  
  
He remained silent and completely focused until the last snowflake was freed, then once inside insisted insisted on fetching her one of his sweaters from the laundry room. Wanda stayed in it all evening as the team gathered to binge-watch the TV series Firefly (a solid favourite of Clint's, who could quote entire episodes, and a new favourite of Steve's) and when she retreated to her room that night, she conveniently forgot to give it back.

 

* * *

  
  
  
Wanda opened her eyes to a fresh layer of fog overlaying the forest outside her window and the memory of the dream fresh in her mind. She frowned as she sat up, rubbing her eyes and stretching. Her dreams were usually smoky, mysterious things filled with impossible situations and contortions of reality - she barely ever dreamed of actual memories. It was hard to believe that that snowfall at the Avengers compound was less than a year ago... so much had changed since then.  
  
She cast a brief glance at the empty spot beside hers in the luxurious canopy twin bed she lay in before she pushed the cover back. She dressed in one of her warmer coats, which she would shed at midmorning when the strong African sunlight chased away the cold and the fog that crept over the mountain range during the night.  
  
She padded into the kitchen in her socks, yawning, and smiled when she saw who was standing at the stove, concentration absolute as he cracked an egg.  
  
Some things changed, but others didn't.  
  
"Good morning Vis." She stretched to kiss his cheek and he dropped the spatula, caught her around the waist and dipped his head for a more intense variety of the greeting. She smiled at his eagerness, and he returned the expression a little shyly, as if he still had difficulty believing he had the good fortune to be kissing her good morning.  
  
She understood the feeling, because she felt it, too.  
  
"Your breakfast, Wanda." When they finally broke apart (even here they were still so surrounded by teammates it was rare to actually finish a kiss without being interrupted by a pointed throat-clear or alternately, a wolf whistle) he gestured at the pan and retrieved the spatula. "Your breakfast is almost ready. I made you a coffee, too." He nodded to the steaming beverage on the table, waiting by her carefully prepared place setting.  
  
"You're the best boyfriend ever. Mmm, smells great." Wanda slid sideways into the seat and curled her legs up under her. "I had a dream about you last night."       
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Mmhmm. That one afternoon when it snowed and you rescued me from outside because I'd rushed out without dressing properly."  
  
"I remember. You stole one of my sweaters that day."  
  
"Stole is such a _final_ word. I prefer 'appropriated'."  
  
His teeth flashed. "Commandeered?" He suggested innocently. (They'd watched the movies of the Pirates of the Caribbean series the previous week).  
  
She laughed. "Exactly. I still have that sweater. I used to wear it to bed sometimes after commandeering it." She confided, and jumped when Vision dropped the entire pan to the floor with a clatter. Fortunately he'd removed her eggs just prior.  
  
"Vision?" He straightened up again, the pan retrieved.  
  
"Oh, I merely touched the burning rim of the pan and startled." He assured her, without quite meeting her eye.  
  
"You're resistant to temperatures of up to 280 degrees." She pointed out skeptically.  
  
"Hmm." He hummed, then pointedly changed the subject. "T'Challa has a surprise for the team today."  
  
"So that's why you're up so early. I was a little worried when I found your side of the bed empty."    
  
"My apologies, you were sleeping so soundly I was reluctant to wake you."  
  
"Hmm. Can't think of a reason I might have been tired after last night." She raised an eyebrow archly at him. He dipped his head, a smile fighting its way onto his lips. "Your breakfast is ready." He brought it to her and she devoured her eggs. "So, tell me about this surprise." She prompted in between bites.  
  
"It won't be a surprise if I tell you now." He pointed out. She rolled her eyes. "We can read minds, Vis, surprise is overrated."        
  
"Mm. Eggs." Sam sniffed the air appreciatively as he entered the kitchen. Wanda made a teasing face at him. "He only made enough for me." She told him smugly. Sam tried to snatch a corner of egg off her plate, and she shot a single-finger hex at him in warning. "Go make your own."  
  
Sam huffed, heading for the fridge for fresh eggs. He greeted Vision so naturally it was as if they had never spent months technically on opposing sides. He cooked a double helping and split it between two plates, exactly in time for Steve to amble in. "Do I smell - ahh, thanks Sam." He accepted his plate and dropped into the seat beside Vision.    
  
"So, do you guys know about this surprise of T'Challa's?" Wanda asked Steve and Sam. Sam shook his head, but Steve's small grin betrayed his knowledge and Wanda pointed at him. "Spill!"  
  
"Whatever it is we don't have time for our morning run." Sam poured dish washing liquid into the sink, and Vision got up and picked up a dishtowel as he started washing the breakfast things. "Which may be a good thing, as I'm certain that running out here is going to wind up with me being eaten by a lion."  
  
"Lions don't live at these altitudes very often." Wanda pointed out. "Leopards are what you want to be concerned about. Watch a documentary every so often, would you?"  
  
"Pardon me. Eaten by a lion, eaten by a leopard, big difference. My point is, whatever we're doing, we're going for it soon."  
  
"Very soon." Agreed T'Challa, entering the kitchen looking as impeccable as always. "You have ten minutes to prepare before we meet at the eastern helipad. Dress warmly."    
  
Wanda went to fetch an extra layer of clothes, and was pleased to see Bucky standing in between Steve and Sam (the former smiling, the latter glowering) when she returned. She slid between the boys to give Bucky a quick sideways hug, and without breaking his conversation with Steve he smiled down at her and draped an arm around her shoulders. It was the new one T'Challa had made for him from vibranium, but she bore the weight without complaint because it was rare for Bucky to lean towards physical contact, even though the two of them had become close after their months in Wakanda.  
  
She caught Vision turning away and speaking to Clint and Natasha, and she remembered he hadn't shared those same months working alongside Bucky, getting to know him. He was coming around to Scott and T'Challa though, and Wanda knew to give him time. After undergoing what the government would have called 'research' and Wanda bluntly equated to 'torture' Vision still suffered side effects, namely memory loss and occasionally spells of dizziness. She'd been thinking lately if his memory didn't improve as quickly as he had physically, she would offer to delve in to his mind and see if she could help.    
  
Vision and Bucky actually had a lot in common. As much as Wanda wanted them to get along, she was letting them develop their relationship at their own place. She had seen the same thing occur - sloooowly - between Sam and Bucky. Sam still didn't fully trust the former soldier, but he was definitely coming around, in no short part because the pair of them often tended to agree on a lot of bigger issues.  
  
When the helicopter arrived, she made sure to sit beside Vision, earning a gentle and somewhat relieved smile, and Scott plopped himself in the seat beside them and shouted amusing stories about his girlfriend Hope learning how to use her own shrinking tech over the whirr of the rotors.  
  
Wanda leaned comfortably on Vision's shoulder as they flew, watching the blur of green pass by. They were headed higher into the mountains, into an area she was quite sure T'Challa had never taken them before. He was piloting, with Clint sitting in the seat beside him as his copilot. She blinked and looked down in amazement as the green was overtaken by a field of white and was unable to resist squealing. "You guys, look!"  
  
There was a scramble to reach the windows, and Wanda, who'd had her fill, settled back and reached for Vision's hand. "Snow. I _love_ snow." She announced brightly, already looking forward to landing.  
  
"I remember." He looked over at her in that steady way he had, and her heart did a flip.  
  
"Surprise." T'Challa chuckled as he brought the helicopter down beside a solid two-story cabin with no road whatsoever. "Captain Rogers decided you could use a break after our recent missions, so I volunteered this getaway cottage of mine."  
  
Sam muttered something under his breath about how cottages were typically under a thousand square feet in size but nobody paid him any attention. Wanda scrambled out of the chopper first, leaped eagerly down into the snow, scrunched up her face at the blinding brightness of it in the sunshine, and inhaled deeply.  
   
Nothing - but nothing - smelled the same way a fresh snowfall did, crisp and sweet and clean. She stood perfectly still as the others flowed around her, Clint and Natasha racing one another inside teasingly calling the best bedrooms, and Vision came up behind her and placed a hand on the small of her back.  
  
She opened her eyes, shielded them with her hand and grinned brightly at him. "You know what this means? We are so going to kick all the ass on this mountain in our next snowball fight."  
   
The snowball fight was voted as the first activity, though Clint had spotted sets of skies and proclaimed the next day 'ski-day'.  
  
"Oh no, you two are not being on the same team again." Sam pointed an accusing finger at Wanda and Vision. "I remember what happened last time."  
  
Steve laughed. "Don't be such a baby. Besides, we've got more backup this time." He shot a fond look at the unlikely pair standing side by side. "Just let them be together. Took them long enough to get here."  
  
Wanda smiled at Steve's seldom-seen romantic side. There were a lot worse places to be standing than right here.  
  
"Fine. I'm on _their_ team then." Sam announced triumphantly, and marched over to join them. Bucky looked over, a gleam in his eye. "I'll be with Steve." He announced, though Wanda suspected he just wanted to excuse to hurl snowballs at Sam.  
  
In the end the teams were decided - Steve, Bucky, Scott, Clint and Natasha against Wanda, Vision, Sam and T'Challa, despite Clint's argument that Vision and Wanda's team ought to be more outnumbered to make up for having the two of them on it.  
  
"Stop whining, or I'll bury you in snow first." Wanda laughingly, told him. "Go on, we'll let you have a headstart."  
  
Steve's team used their headstart to construct a snow fortress and pile ammunition behind it. Wanda was tempted to wreak it with a flick of her wrist but they were just too cute hiding behind the snowy wall and she let it stand. As predicted, Sam and Bucky quickly singled one another out and began to pummel each other with snowballs thrown just a bit too forcefully, but the others just let them be, used to them by now. Scott vanished inside to change into his suit. Vision and Wanda found it more difficult going up against the well-practiced pairing of Clint and Natasha, and Wanda used her powers sparingly, enjoying the battle too much to end it prematurely. She did use her telepathy a little to locate Scott when he began shrinking and sitting on the snowballs his side threw, popping up to fullsize when they hit.  
  
T'Challa was the most amusing to Wanda - she'd never really seen him loosen up and play before, and it softened his stoic, focused sensibilities and made him just another of the guys. He rivaled Clint for accuracy and Steve or Bucky for sheer force when hurtling snowy missiles, and she was glad he was on her side, especially after Clint knocked her out of the sky with a slyly timed snowball and he and Vision teamed up to retaliate.  
  
They called a draw when everyone was too hungry to continue, and while Sam cooked lunch the others explored and unpacked.    
  
"Oooh." Wanda tugged on Vision's hand and bounced up a set of stairs to a small bedroom. The moment she saw the sloping ceilings and cozy wood furniture she beamed. "Let's take this one." She begged Vision. He looked down at her with wide blue eyes, and she understood in a flash his wonder at her unspoken decision that they would be sharing a bedroom. She grinned and stood on tiptoes to press a kiss against his surprised lips. "Get used to it." She assured him with confidence. Downstairs, Scott began yelling about finding a trove of board games. "I challenge everybody to pictonary tonight! Avengers Pictonary!" He hollered, his whoops disturbing the tender moment, but Vision just smiled tolerantly, then tilted his head curiously.

  
"Wanda?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"What is Pictonary?"    
  
The temperature that night dropped so low it reminded her of Sokovia, but she didn't feel a bit cold with Vision's body curled around hers, buried under a layer of blankets.   

**Author's Note:**

> I know, it's been way too long since my last Sweet Dreams update, life got in the way, how rude.
> 
> Speaking of life, if you guys haven't been watching season 2 of Agent Carter, you should be! I'm enjoying it vastly more than season 1 (which I liked, just not adored). It's funny, well-paced, dramatic, heart-wrenching at times and has brilliant characters. It's funny, seeing tiny hints of our Vision in Agent Carter's Jarvis. For those who don't know his backstory, when Tony programmed JARVIS he named and to some extent based him off of his childhood butler, who basically raised him - is anyone thinking Howard Stark was much of a cuddly touchy-feeling type of father? This same childhood butler is the Jarvis of Agent Carter. I teared up in the episode I just watched - not that that's so surprising as a sad advertisement can make me cry. Also, I really want Jarvis, Anna, and a Bernese Mountain Dog. Google those, if you haven't heard of them, they're amazing dogs.  
> Just go watch the series, it's freaking awesome!


End file.
